McDonalds (MCD 0.78%) is clearly one of the biggest success stories in the foodservice industry in history, with nearly 42,000 locations currently operating around the world. It has also been a publicly traded company for quite some time, having gone public in April 1965 at a price of $22.50 per share.
With the stock currently trading for about $292, it seems like this has been a solid investment for long-term shareholders. But it’s far better than the share price indicates. Over the years, McDonalds has split its stock a total of 12 times, which has played a major role in its performance.
McDonalds stock split history
As mentioned, there have been 12 splits of McDonalds stock. If you had bought one share at the IPO, here’s what this would mean to you.
|
Split Distribution Date |
Ratio |
How Many Shares You’d Own |
|---|---|---|
|
April 18, 1966 |
3-for-2 |
1.5 |
|
May 20, 1968 |
2-for-1 |
3 |
|
June 13, 1969 |
2-for-1 |
6 |
|
June 11, 1971 |
3-for-2 |
9 |
|
June 5, 1972 |
2-for-1 |
18 |
|
Oct 6, 1982 |
3-for-2 |
27 |
|
Sept 24, 1984 |
3-for-2 |
40.5 |
|
June 25, 1986 |
3-for-2 |
60.75 |
|
June 22, 1987 |
3-for-2 |
91.125 |
|
June 16, 1989 |
2-for-1 |
182.25 |
|
June 24, 1994 |
2-for-1 |
364.5 |
|
Mar 5, 1999 |
2-for-1 |
729 |
Data source: McDonalds.
Here’s the key takeaway. Every share of McDonalds bought at the company’s IPO would have become 729 shares in the 60-year period since it went public. And those shares would be worth a total of $212,868. Not a bad return on a $22.50 investment.
But there’s more. McDonalds has paid dividends since the mid-1970s, so you would have received quite a bit of income along the way (and additional shares if you chose to reinvest the dividends). But even without reinvestment, your 729 shares would produce an annual income stream of about $5,160 today – from a $22.50 initial investment.
